1842-D LIBERTY $5, SMALL DATE MS61

SMALL DATE. LUSTROUS SURFACES. VERY SCARCE IN MINT STATE. JUST A FEW MS62 COINS GRADED HIGHER AT PCGS. In a mirror-image relationship to that of the 1842-C Half Eagle, the 1842-D Five is more plentiful with the Small Date logotype than with the Large Date. Even though 37,917 examples of the former variety were produced, we would be surprised if more than 200 coins have survived in all grades. This indicates extensive circulation throughout the antebellum South for this Dahlonega Mint issue. The '42-D Small Date Five is typically offered in VF or EF grades, and it is a significant condition rarity at the AU and Mint State levels. In high grades, in fact, the '42-D Small Date is rarer than such other Half Eagles from the 1840s as the 1841-D, 1843-D, 1844-D, 1845-D and 1847-D.